


Freedom

by Chantress



Series: Across the Universe [3]
Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bittersweet, Force Bond (Star Wars), M/M, Picnics, Qui-Gon Lives, Weddings, discussion of slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-15 06:03:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8045149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chantress/pseuds/Chantress
Summary: A taste of togetherness, before the long parting.





	Freedom

Whatever reaction Obi-Wan had been expecting from the boy when he explained what was about to happen, and the need for his discretion in the matter, it certainly hadn't been this.  
  
"Oh, you mean like a slave wedding," Anakin said, expression brightening. "Yeah, okay, that makes sense."  
  
Obi-Wan blinked. "Like a... what?"  
  
"Well, slaves aren't allowed to get married the way free people are," Anakin said with a matter-of-fact shrug. "At least not on Tatooine. So we'd have our own ceremonies, in secret. Of course it doesn't make any difference whether you're married or not if your owners decide to sell you to someone else, but people still did it anyway." He bit his lip, as though trying to work something out in his head. "I never really got it before, but I guess it's like what Master Qui-Gon says about living in the moment, maybe? If you're happy right now, you want to celebrate it with the people you care about, even if something bad happens later and takes it all away from you."  
  
Somehow, Obi-Wan managed a smile for his apprentice, despite the sudden lump in his throat. "A wise way of looking at it, my Padawan," he said, ruffling Anakin's hair. "Now, speaking of Master Qui-Gon, why don't you go see if he needs any help packing our supper?"  
  
"Okay!" Anakin bounded off in the direction of the kitchen, only to pause halfway there and run back, knocking the breath out of Obi-Wan with a sudden hug.  
  
"I'm glad he said yes," the boy confided in a half-whisper.  
  
Another smile, this one far less bittersweet, played over Obi-Wan's lips as he wrapped his own arms around Anakin.  
  
"So am I."  
  
***  
  
As weddings went, this one could hardly be called the most lavish affair Coruscant had ever seen. It was just the three of them sprawled on an old blanket in a secluded corner of the Temple gardens, no other witnesses apart from the Force as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan murmured the vows that would bind the two men together for the rest of their lives.  
  
While they shared the picnic supper they had brought, Obi-Wan's hand brushed against his new bondmate's when they both reached for a slice of fruit at the same time, sending a rush of warmth and longing through his entire body. Wordlessly, Qui-Gon held the morsel out to him, dark blue eyes filled with tenderness and long-banked desire, and Obi-Wan ate it from his fingers, catching a stray drop of juice with a quick lap of his tongue before it had a chance to fall.  
  
As weddings went, Obi-Wan reflected, smiling inwardly at the sudden spike of heat that flared through their bond at his actions, he couldn't have wished for a better one.  
  
***  
  
That night, after Anakin had gone to bed, the two of them spread the blanket on the floor of Qui-Gon's room--no, _their_ room now, Obi-Wan thought with a thrill--and shared a much more intimate picnic, filling the air with soft groans and murmured endearments as they each learned the taste of every inch of the other's body.  
  
As they lay in each other's arms afterwards, sweat cooling heated skin, hearts slowing to their accustomed rhythms, Obi-Wan pressed a kiss to the scar on Qui-Gon's torso.  
  
"We really are slaves," he whispered against the newly-healed skin.  
  
"What's that?" Qui-Gon rumbled, already drowsing.  
  
"Nothing, love. Go back to sleep."  
  
Qui-Gon made a small noise of contentment and ran a hand through his bondmate's hair, only recently grown out to a reasonable length from its former Padawan cut. Within moments, his breathing settled into the slow hush-and-lull of slumber.  
  
Obi-Wan, however, lay awake and watched the stream of lights flow over the wall opposite the window; in their eagerness for each other, they'd neglected to close the curtain all the way, and this reminder of Coruscant's endless traffic seeping in through the crack made his heart ache anew.  
  
_They'll never let us stay together_ , he thought. _Anakin will finish his remedial coursework soon, and the Healers have declared Qui-Gon fit to resume active duty by the end of the month, so long as he's diligent about his physical therapy in the meantime. There won't be a reason for us to live together any longer. I'll be given my own quarters, and assigned my own missions with my own Padawan, and Qui-Gon and I will only see each other in passing after that._  
  
Obi-Wan clenched his fists against his beloved's skin, fighting to keep from crying. What good was it to have the Force, to be counted among the wisest and most powerful beings in the Galaxy, when he couldn't even choose to spend his life with the man he loved?  
  
_We really are_ _slaves_ , he repeated silently. _Instead of the Force, we serve the Code. We aren't even allowed to love, because then we might demand more than mere_ duty _from our lives!_  
  
He didn't realize that he had been sending these thoughts through their bond until he felt Qui-Gon's arms tighten around him.  
  
"Oh, love," Qui-Gon whispered. "Oh, my heart."  
  
That was all it took; the tears Obi-Wan had been holding back spilled out as he clung to his bondmate, who rocked him and murmured soothing nonsense against his hair.  
  
"I'll always be with you," Qui-Gon said once Obi-Wan's sobs had quieted, laying his hand against the younger man's chest. "Closer than your heartbeat, no matter how far apart we may be."  
  
"I know," Obi-Wan said. "I know, but... oh, Qui, I'll never stop wanting _this_."  
  
He felt rather than saw the small, crooked smile on his bondmate's lips as Qui-Gon leaned in to kiss him.  
  
"Then let us make free with the time we have, my love."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic of] Freedom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8870926) by [knight_tracer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/knight_tracer/pseuds/knight_tracer)




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